As we bid adieu to sipping pinya coladas by the pool and begin to welcome the frequent showers drawing in, there is still no excuse for you not to achieve that #summerbod. Achieve fast (and healthy!) results with F45, an intensive workout that includes cardiovascular exercises and resistance training. The catch here is: you have to do everything in 45 minutes. On the bright side, F45 lives by team training, so you definitely won’t be alone as you have classmates and well-trained coaches to guide and push you beyond your limits.
As a retired competitive figure skater and cheerleader, I knew I had to get back in shape when I stopped training around last year. This summer, I wanted to do something non-conventional and fun and that would make me look forward to each training session just as how I felt every time I wrapped up a session of practice in my previous sports. I enrolled in F45 MOA Complex and yep, Team F45 perfectly fit the activity I was looking for. They also lived by their motto of working as a team and being life-changing.
F45 MOA Complex doesn’t have mirrors because they want their clients to focus on their tasks instead of how they look during their workouts.
The gym franchise originates from Australia, but the F45 MOA Complex only opened at the start of the year and is just the second F45 Training Gym that was launched in the country with the first being in BGC Stopover. Apple Buenavista, Manager and Brand Ambassador, opts to introduce functional training in the Philippines. “Our difference compared to other typical gyms in the country is that we are introducing functional training – we monitor and administer all the classes by our trainers who are really hands-on with our clients.”
There are four coaches spearheading the sessions in F45 MOA Complex, and most have backgrounds as first aid volunteers, health and nutrition graduates as well as former fitness instructors. Coach Maverick Gomez clarifies why training runs on strictly 45 minutes. “If you do more than 90 minutes (two sessions worth), your muscles are already the one doing the work. You can do up to two sessions of high intensity interval training. Your body will tend to focus on the actual workout not just during the after burn (post-workout). To achieve good and fast results, remember that it’s not how long you do the exercise, but by how intense you do it.”
F45 is often compared to crossfit training. Coach Rey Casaje clarifies this. “Workhood, it’s somehow similar. Crossfit is more on the repetition and in a sense, requires “heavier”  work. F45 is time-based and definitely challenges you all the time and it’s functional workout.”
F45 has a specific exercise to follow per day and it differs. Say, Mondays and Wednesdays are focused on cardio training while Tuesdays and Thursdays are for resistance and weight training, Saturdays are a combination of the three. Recently added to the F45 program for the MOA complex branch is mixed martial arts and boxing on Fridays. There are designated stations you must complete within 30-40 seconds before you can move on to the next, with rests in between. Some programs even require you to partner up, too! After all, it doesn’t urge their motto “Team Training, Life Changing” for nothin’. “It’s more of a challenge, not a must-do.” Coach Rey finishes. One class can accommodate a maximum of 27 students.
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